Asian equity benchmarks are trading lower in the early deals on Friday, following the weak cues from Wall Street and amid ongoing concerns about Greece's debt situation. Investors are treading cautiously ahead of release of the US Labor Department's closely-watched monthly employment report later in the day. The Japanese market declined due to negative lead from Wall Street and a flat yen. Sentiment was subdued ahead of the US jobs report later in the day.
Nikkei 225 slipped 85.21points or 0.42% to 20,402.98, Hang Seng contracted 242.21 points or 0.88% to 27,309.68, Shanghai Composite contracted 6.10 points or 0.12% to 4,941.01, Jakarta Composite declined 9.26 points or 0.18% to 5,086.56, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 1.22 points or 0.07% to 1,740.26, Taiwan Weighted crumbled 37.28 points or 0.40% to 9,311.35, KOSPI Index dipped 3.15points or 0.15% to 2,069.71 and Straits Times was down by 11.16 points or 0.33% to 3,333.84.